Key indices hit the roof amid volatility

STOCK REPORT

Key indices ended at their highest ever close in a volatile session Monday as investors continued to churn portfolios.

A late surge in Tata Tea and Larsen & Toubro added to the steady prop provided by MTNL and Zee Telefilms, said the dealers.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 10173.25, up 62.28 points, or 0.6 per cent from Friday after a scaling a peak of 10182.77.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 3041.15, up 13.60 points or 0.4 per cent after touching a record high of 3042.75.

The total traded turnover on both exchanges combined was around Rs 109.76 crore. On the BSE, market breadth was positive with 62 per cent of the stocks advancing.

"Although the pace has slowed down, ample liquidity coupled with budget expectations is driving the indices higher now," said Vijay Poddar, equity head, Advani Share Brokers adding that frontlines still continue to attract more interest.

Larsen & Toubro, with an over 8 per cent rise, was the top index gainer amid talk of likely new order wins. Tata Tea followed with 7 per cent gains on talk of a better outlook on tea prices after a near-25 per cent crop failure in Kenya, dealers said.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam continued to gain through the session on talk of another tax refund. The company had received a tax refund of Rs 1233 crore earlier this month.

Oil retailers, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum ended up 2 per cent, and 4 per cent, respectively, on reports that the government is mulling a hike in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 1.27 and Rs 2.18 respectively, in order to contain the subsidy burden on oil marketing companies.

Other major gainers included Zee Telefilms, Tata Motors, Grasim Industries, and Bharat Heavy Electricals, up 3-5 per cent.

Shipping Corporation of India was the biggest loser, down 5.4 per cent as the stock went ex-dividend on Monday. The company paid an interim dividend of Rs 8.50 per share.

Aluminium majors, Hindalco Industries and National Aluminium Co were down 1 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively. Other major losers included Jet Airways, HDFC Bank, and Hero Honda Motors, down 2 per cent each.

The CNX Midcap Index ended at 4458.90, up 0.7 per cent after hitting a record high of 4464.80.

Alstom Projects India was the top gainer, up 7 per cent, followed by Polaris Software and Nirma, up 5 per cent, each. Centurion Bank of Punjab was the biggest loser, down 3 per cent.